This invention relates to temperature control in solar-to-thermal energy converters.
Various means have been used in conjunction with solar-to-thermal energy converters to prevent high temperature damage to the converters.
Some converters have been designed to withstand maximum achievable temperatures (stagnation temperatures). The result has been the use of costly materials in the design, or the development of a collector with a very low solar energy conversion efficiency.
Some systems have been designed to limit collector temperature by means of external heat rejecting heat exchangers actuated at desired temperature levels. The result has been the use of costly ancillary parts in the system, with the additional disadvantage of being dependent on the proper function of the collector heat exchange fluid loop, malfunction of the temperature limiter occurring when the system fluid loop is empty of fluid.